Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Holdings Cut by LVW Advisors LLC

LVW Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 21.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 461 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 134.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,809,000 after purchasing an additional 142,201 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $160.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.99 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $150.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.52. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.14 and a 52-week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.56) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total transaction of $590,760.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,433,183.76. The trade was a 29.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total transaction of $978,693.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,695,784.62. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,164 shares of company stock worth $8,644,535 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NTRA. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.63.

About Natera

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.